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Drew Slegers, a fourth grader at Soldotna Elementary, snowshoes on Headquarters Lake in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The refuge is offering spring break snowshoe walks for kids. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Refuge offering spring break walks for kids

Guided walks will be held daily for those 8 years and older from Tuesday through Saturday of next week

Drew Slegers, a fourth grader at Soldotna Elementary, snowshoes on Headquarters Lake in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge just outside of Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The refuge is offering spring break snowshoe walks for kids. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire University of Alaska President Pat Pitney speaks to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Thursday, emphasizing the system’s importance to the state’s workforce.

UA seeks to rebuild enrollment

UA President: Infrastructure jobs are coming, Alaskans could fill them.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire University of Alaska President Pat Pitney speaks to the Juneau Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Thursday, emphasizing the system’s importance to the state’s workforce.
Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries

Board of Fish meeting scheduled for end of month

The Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting addressing issues affecting Cook Inlet will take placed March 26 through April 2, according to a press release from… Continue reading

Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries
The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

KPBSD adds additional early release days

The early release days on March 16 and April 20 are canceled

The logo for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District is displayed inside the George A. Navarre Borough Admin Building on Thursday, July 22, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, March 3, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, March 3, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Pelosi supports halting Russian oil imports to US as lawmaker pressure grows

“I’m all for that,” Pelosi said about ending Russian oil in the U.S. “Ban it.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, March 3, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, of Calif., speaks to the media, Thursday, March 3, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Speaker of the Alaksa House of Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, speaks to lawmakers on Jan. 18, 2022. In a statement Wednesday the House Majority Coalition announced a $1,300 boost to this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)

House leadership proposes $1,300 ‘energy relief check’

Dividend amount under debate.

Speaker of the Alaksa House of Representatives Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, speaks to lawmakers on Jan. 18, 2022. In a statement Wednesday the House Majority Coalition announced a $1,300 boost to this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file)
Lucas Stumpf, a fishery biologist with the Division of Sport Fish, helps Aurora Borealis Charter School third grader Teagan Jorgensen, left, with her line while she ice fishes at Sport Lake in Soldotna as part of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s “Salmon in the Classroom” ice fishing educational program on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Fish on!’

Kids cast lines and learn at ice fishing event

Lucas Stumpf, a fishery biologist with the Division of Sport Fish, helps Aurora Borealis Charter School third grader Teagan Jorgensen, left, with her line while she ice fishes at Sport Lake in Soldotna as part of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s “Salmon in the Classroom” ice fishing educational program on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file This photo composite shows Alaska’s congressional delegation, from left to right, Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, all Republicans. Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Alaska’s delegation called for increased U.S. energy development.

Delegation urges energy production following State of the Union

Alaska’s lawmakers say energy is unused weapon

Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file This photo composite shows Alaska’s congressional delegation, from left to right, Sen. Dan Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Rep. Don Young, all Republicans. Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Alaska’s delegation called for increased U.S. energy development.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

Peninsula residents among newly reported COVID deaths

New deaths are reported through death certificate review each Wednesday

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
University of Alaska President Pat Pitney stopped by the Empire offices in Juneau on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to talk about the system’s future. Mostly recovered from budget cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitney said the university is ready to start building Alaska’s workforce. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Pitney: UA ready to train Alaska’s workforce

‘Getting people through the pipeline.’

University of Alaska President Pat Pitney stopped by the Empire offices in Juneau on Wednesday, March 2, 2022, to talk about the system’s future. Mostly recovered from budget cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, Pitney said the university is ready to start building Alaska’s workforce. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts as she leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Judge defends move to toss Palin’s libel case against NYT

U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff said he was unfamiliar with the term “push notifications”

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reacts as she leaves a courthouse in New York, Monday, Feb. 14, 2022. Palin lost her libel lawsuit against The New York Times on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022, when a jury rejected her claim that the newspaper maliciously damaged her reputation by erroneously linking her campaign rhetoric to a mass shooting. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire The offices of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation got some rate sun on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, as Alaska’s lawmakers urged the corporation’s Board of Directors to divest from Russian assets in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Permanent Fund to hold Russian assets as lawmakers urge divestment

Many states are divesting.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire The offices of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation got some rate sun on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, as Alaska’s lawmakers urged the corporation’s Board of Directors to divest from Russian assets in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Image via labor.alaska.gov.

Wages up from a decade ago

Yearly wages rose 11% when adjusted for inflation — or approximately $5,809 annually — from 2010 to 2020

Image via labor.alaska.gov.
In this September 2019 Empire file photo, prescriptions drugs, vitamins, hormones, and other drugs left in the drug drop box in the lobby of the Juneau Police Department are displayed. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)

Alaska to receive $58M in opioid settlement

15% of the $58 million — roughly $8.7 million — will go to the nine political subdivisions in Alaska

In this September 2019 Empire file photo, prescriptions drugs, vitamins, hormones, and other drugs left in the drug drop box in the lobby of the Juneau Police Department are displayed. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file)
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP)

Biden vows to check Russian aggression, fight inflation

“Too many families are struggling to keep up with the bills,” Biden said.

  • Mar 1, 2022
  • By ZEKE MILLER and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press
  • State News
President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, March 1, 2022, in Washington. (Saul Loeb, Pool via AP)
Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)

As COVID cases fall statewide, hospital feels relief

COVID cases have been plummeting in Alaska since mid-January

Central Peninsula Hospital is seen in Soldotna on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021. (Camille Botello/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a board meeting on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Contact tracing, masking to end at schools Friday

The district announced new changes to its COVID-19 protocol on Monday

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a board meeting on Monday, Dec. 6, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Viktor Tkachenko, who moved to Alaska from Ukraine last year, holds a sign asking NATO for assistance defeating Russian airpower at a protest against the war Saturday in Marine Park.

Juneau rallies for Ukraine

Opponents of the Russian invasion of Ukraine gathered Saturday

Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Viktor Tkachenko, who moved to Alaska from Ukraine last year, holds a sign asking NATO for assistance defeating Russian airpower at a protest against the war Saturday in Marine Park.
Assembly members Richard Derkevorkian (left) and Jesse Bjorkman consult during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara)

Borough seeks to fill planning commission vacancies

Two new commissioners took their seats for the Monday night meeting

Assembly members Richard Derkevorkian (left) and Jesse Bjorkman consult during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara)
The Kenai Peninsula’s Community Level is shown as medium on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled new metrics to assess COVID-19 risk level last week. (cdc.gov)

State COVID cases declining

The new cases come days after new masking guidelines were issued by the CDC

The Kenai Peninsula’s Community Level is shown as medium on Monday, Feb. 28, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unveiled new metrics to assess COVID-19 risk level last week. (cdc.gov)